Leptomeningeal enhancement on post-contrast FLAIR images for early diagnosis of Susac syndrome

Background: Leptomeningeal enhancement (LME) is a key feature of Susac syndrome (SuS) but is only occasionally depicted on post-contrast T1-weighted images (T1-WI).

Objective: As post-contrast fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) may be more sensitive, our aim was to assess LME in SuS on this sequence.

Methods: From 2010 to 2020, 20 patients with definite SuS diagnosis were retrospectively enrolled in this multicentre study. Two radiologists independently assessed the number of LME on post-contrast FLAIR and T1-WI acquisitions performed before any treatment. A chi-square test was used to compare both sequences and the interrater agreement was calculated.

Results: Thirty-five magnetic resonance imagings (MRIs) were performed before treatment, including 19 post-contrast FLAIR images in 17 patients and 25 post-contrast T1-WI in 19 patients. In terms of patients, LME was observed on all post-contrast FLAIR, contrary to post-contrast T1-WI (17/17 (100%) vs. 15/19 (79%), p < 0.05). In terms of sequences, LME was observed on all post-contrast FLAIR, contrary to post-contrast T1-WI (19/19 (100%) vs. 16/25 (64%), p < 0.005). LME was disseminated at both supratentorial (19/19) and infratentorial (18/19) levels on post-contrast FLAIR, contrary to post-contrast T1-WI (3/25 and 9/25, respectively). Interrater agreement was excellent for post-contrast FLAIR (κ = 0.95) but only moderate for post-contrast T1-WI (κ = 0.61).

Conclusion: LME was always observed and easily visible on post-contrast FLAIR images prior to SuS treatment. In association with other MRI features, it is highly indicative of SuS.